interestingcuriosfandomcom-20200213-history
Professor George Edward Challenger
Professor George Edward Challlenger was born in Largs, a Scottish village near Glasgow, in 1863. Early Life While being educated in Largs University, he was found to be a prodigy in most sciences, in particular chemical make-up, biology, and natural history. So expert was the young Challenger in these studies that he later became a graduate of Edinburgh University, and his education was further compounded when he took a job as an assistant at the British Museum in 1892, and later became the Assistant-Keeper of Comparative Anthropology Department in 1893. Alas, this position did not last long, as Challenger derided Jean-Martin Charcot’s studies in hypnosis and hysteria as “blasted hogwash… the ravings of an blathering lunatic”. As this statement was made during the eulogy of the man concerned, Challenger was naturally fired from the British Museum. However, he had made quite a stir in scientific circles, if only as a source of amusement. Disgraced in England, he spent three years in British East Africa, where his efforts at cataloguing new creatures was awarded by the prestigious Crayston Medal for Zoological Research. At this time he was also made President of the Paleontological Society. However, he left this role under a great deal of scandal, to which the only written record is an account of the various fractures and broken bones that members of the society acquired. Challenger became a foreign member of several different scientific societies, including the Societe Belge, the American Academy of Sciences, La Plata, Section H, British Association, etc. etc. His most famous paper, “The Underlying Fallacy of Weismannism” caused heated discussion and uproar at the Zoological Congress of Vienna. It challenged 40 years of scientific doctrine that held it impossible for adaptive modifications acquired in a lifetime to be transmitted to the reproductive cells from other body cells. Expedition to Maple White Land In 1908, following an expedition to Brazil, Challenger claimed to have proof that some prehistoric species still survived. Unfortunately the backing for this story was limited; some fragments of bone, a piece of membranous wing, sketches, and damaged photographs. Not surprisingly, few of his colleagues were inclined to believe him. Matters were not improved by intensive Press interest, which resulted in Challenger assaulting several reporters. After two years of frustration he finally persuaded the Zoological Institute to supply a group of unbiased witnesses, who would accompany a second expedition at Challenger's expense. The second Challenger expedition has been extensively documented elsewhere; in Mr. Edward Malone's "The Lost World", and in numerous papers by Professors Challenger and Summerlee (the latter dealing mainly with the invertebrate species of the area). The expedition team consisting of the sceptical Professor Summerlee, the Irish journalist Edward Malone and Lord John Roxton, who was a contemporary of Allan Quatermain and Henry Curtis. After the expedition returned there was widespread pressure for Challenger and his colleagues to reveal the position of Maple White Land, and several expeditions set out to find the plateau independently. All failed, and several lives were lost, mainly because the directions and distances mentioned in Malone's account were wildly inaccurate. High scientific and humanitarian motives were claimed for this secrecy; if the plateau were subject to regular expeditions and hunting parties, some of its species might soon be driven to extinction, and the natives might succumb to the diseases and vices of civilisation. While these reasons might have sufficed, there was another important motive for their reticence; the expedition had found diamonds, and Malone's account of the discovery had already reached the governments of Brazil, then an alliance of coastal states. Although the expedition had penetrated far inland, beyond the area controlled by any one state, all claimed a share in the inland resources of the country. In 1911 the Brazilian states sued for the return of the stones "stolen" by the Challenger party; naturally British courts found in favour of the explorers, but this did not satisfy the Brazilians. Until the matter was fully resolved it would have been folly to reveal the plateau's true location. The Poison Belt Exactly three years after his return from Brazil, Professor Challenger shocked the world by claiming that some peculiar physical and medical phenomena might be caused by the presence of an unusual form of ether. Within hours he was proven dramatically right, as most of the world's population lapsed into a cataleptic coma that lasted 28 hours. What followed is generally considered to have been the greatest lost opportunity of the twentieth century. Throughout the world there was a general mood of grief for the dead, but joy in the survival of the human race, and strong public pressure for new policies which would bring peace and prosperity to all and make war a thing of the past. But the whole trend of late Victorian and Edwardian politics had been a gradual drift towards war, and the construction of ever more powerful armaments; a sudden reversal would have represented humiliation for the leaders of Europe, and ruin for the weapons maufacturers. Money was saved, via pensions and taxes, supposedly for the relief of poverty, but was instead "invested" in the armed forces of several nations, including Britain, France, Germany, and Russia. The ambition and greed of government overcame the public conscience, as a flood of jingoistic propaganda sought to justify this diversion of funds. When war began in 1914 it was almost a relief, a release of tension that had been prolonged unbearably. By 1918 Europe was ruined, and the events of 1913 were all but forgotten in the greater tragedy of the conflict. While this record of invention is impressive enough, Challenger and Roxton also visited Maple White Land with another expedition late in the war. They found that the primitive metabolism of the dinosaurs had helped them to survive the Poison Belt episode, and returned with dinosaur eggs of various species, and several thousand carats of diamonds. This expedition could not have been mounted without the approval of the British and Brazilian governments, and the gems were destined for use in industry. Part of the price the Brazilians demanded for free passage was the location of Maple White Land. Unconfirmed stories say that Challenger was dogged by German spies throughout the journey, and that he transported the diamonds inside a stuffed pterodactyl. Unfortunately only six eggs subsequently hatched; they included a solitary male stegosaur, a pair of pterodactyls, and two female and one male iguanodons. Challenger's wife was one of the victims of the influenza epidemic that followed the Great War, dying of pneumonic complications in 1919. After a period of deep depression he returned to his work, and engaged in several new scientific controversies. In 1924 he was the recipient of an extraordinary legacy; Charles Betterton, the owner of a Malayan rubber plantation and a friend of Lord John Roxton, died without natural heirs. Betterton's will left Challenger more than five million pounds (about $25 million) to spend on unspecified 'scientific research.' Most of his envious colleagues thought that he would put the money towards his long-planned museum, a project which had slowly been taking shape since 1910, or possibly build a research aircraft to investigate the strange aerial jungles that had recently been discovered, but Challenger was in search of bigger game. He purchased land on the South Coast and announced that he intended to prove that there was oil under Britain. This explanation was obvious nonsense to any expert, since the huge shaft he had built was totally inappropriate for an oil well. The excavations on Hengist Down were to continue for the next five years, kill four workmen, and exhaust most of Betterton's estate, while Challenger's paranoid secrecy would try the patience of the Press, the public, and his colleagues. Interest in Spiritualism As already mentioned, Challenger reacted extremely badly to the death of his wife. In 1926 his daughter Enid and the journalist Edward Malone both became interested in spiritualism, and converts to the religious aspect of that belief. Still mourning his wife, Challenger could readily understand their willingness to think that there might be life after death, but at the same time felt that this idea was a denial of the scientific logic he held dear. Always intolerant of scientific frauds (such as the so-called Piltdown Man, which his analysis revealed earlier that year as a crudely-stained assemblage of human and animal bones), his natural response was to pour scorn on the idea, reveal the tricks of fake mediums, and otherwise make trouble for those he derided. This eventually led to a public debate on the matter, in which Challenger was badly prepared and came off a very poor second to the spiritualist James Smith. Despite their differing views on spiritualism, Challenger and Malone remained on reasonably good terms. In 1928 Malone's editor asked him to investigate Theodore Nemor, a Latvian scientist who claimed to have invented a so-called disintegration machine. Nemor demonstrated the device, which apparently worked, and was able to make objects disintegrate and reappear unharmed. Malone and Challenger left Nemor working on the machine, which had given Challenger a mild electric shock. They were the last to see him. The mystery surrounding his subsequent disappearance involved diplomats from Russia and Germany, accusations of murder, and a prolonged (but ultimately futile) police investigation. One odd aspect of the case was Challenger's lukewarm response to the Press. In previous incidents he had assaulted or sued dozens of reporters; this time he was almost indifferent to reports that could easily be construed as a veiled charge of murder. Since there was no evidence to be found, the case still remains open, although subsequent events suggest a possible explanation. The full details are in section 4.2 below. Challenger's conversion to spiritualism has never been satisfactorily explained. Ruling out the possibility of genuine supernatural involvement, the most obvious theory is that he secretly wanted to believe, despite his rationalist sentiments, and eventually allowed himself to be persuaded that he had seen psychic phenomena. His love of his wife would certainly explain his willingness to accept that she still lived on another plane. While it would be unfair to comment further on this event when the true details remain unknown, and none of the protagonists can reply, it should perhaps be pointed out that Professor Challenger's main objection to the wedding was his dislike of spiritualism, that children often know much more of their parent's affairs than the parents would believe, and that Malone was an investigative reporter who could easily follow up slender clues to unearth information that Challenger might believe forgotten. Having thus become an overnight convert to spiritualism, Challenger proceeded to embrace it with the same enthusiasm he gave to any other cherished scientific theory, protesting against anyone who attacked it. A series of abrasive letters and papers were sent to various journals, which became increasingly wary of any envelope bearing his address. Several interesting articles on zoology, physics, and plant genetics were rejected without a fair hearing; one paper, submitted two months before the climax of the Hengist Down experiment, and outlining his "World Echidna" theory in great detail, was rejected by Nature and three other journals! The World Echidna Theory Challenger's "World Echidna" theory is bizarre, apparently insane, but correct, a triumph of flawed logic that happened to reach the right conclusions. The full details are discussed in detail in section 5.0 below; since most readers will be familiar with the events which proved that our world is alive, from Malone's account or other contemporary sources, suffice it to say that it was possibly the most spectacular experiment ever performed, with the widest possible consequences. Within hours every active volcano in Europe erupted, fortunately without fatalities. Further afield, there was volcanic activity in South America, Japan, Hawaii, and the United States. It has subsequently been learned that Mount Erebus, in Antarctica, also erupted at about this time. Days later shocks were still being felt in many areas, and an earthquake in China killed several hundred, while avalanches in Switzerland claimed nine lives. There is no proof, of course, that Challenger's experiment was responsible for these later incidents. A few weeks later Challenger was asked to give evidence at an emergency session of the League Of Nations. When questioned, he admitted that it might be possible to stimulate the World Echidna and deliberately trigger volcanoes or earthquakes. The second 1929 revision of the Geneva Convention banned all forms of "geological warfare", its language strongly implying that any repetition of the Hengist Down experiment might in itself be regarded as an act of war. Later Life Challenger was 66 at the end of the Hengist Down experiment, but still extraordinarily active. Damages to Italy, and British claims that exceeded twenty thousand pounds, exhausted the last of Betterton's estate and some of Challenger's personal fortune, but he continued to press ahead with his zoological, geological, and psychic studies. In 1930 he was also asked to serve on the committee of enquiry following the R101 disaster; while others tended to whitewash the government's role in this accident, Challenger's report was a scathing indictment of the Air Ministry's incompetence, which probably lost him the knighthood he richly deserved. This work also led to his design of an airship for prolonged observation of the aerofauna discovered by Joyce-Armstrong in the 1920s. While he eventually participated in a few flights, air sickness and lack of time limited his participation in this work, although he was the first to describe several new species. In 1934-5 Challenger took part in the investigations at Loch Ness, but poor health and other commitments, especially to the spiritualist cause, meant that he had no major role in the final unravelling of this riddle; in fact, his presence often drew attention away from the scientists who were doing most of the work, leaving them free of press interference. However, it was largely due to his influence that the Navy provided the equipment that ultimately solved the mystery. His last paper, published in 1937, ran true to form; it was a rebuttal of the German anthropologist Herman Gauch's "racial science" theories, establishing (at least to Challenger's satisfaction) that the "master race" was in fact not the Aryan but the Celt, and in particular the Scot. Although Challenger had previously argued in favour of eugenics, the paper was almost certainly intended as a joke, but the Nazis took it seriously. Several replies were prepared, but Challenger never saw them. On January 8th 1938, during a visit to his family home in Largs, he attempted to stop a runaway horse. He was successful, but the strain of this effort was too much for his heart. He died early the following morning, his last words a whispered "I'll be back". His body was left to science; his brain and skull are still preserved in Edinburgh University, the other remains were used for teaching purposes and subsequently cremated. Ever since his death there have been rumours that Challenger had prepared a secret message, much like that left by Houdini, which would be positive proof of his survival in the afterlife. While several mediums have claimed to contact him, none has ever produced convincing evidence; his daughter never admitted that a message existed. His death, followed later in the year by that of Lord John Roxton in a mountaineering accident, was widely seen as marking the end of the last great age of scientific eccentricity. Edward and Enid Malone survived into the 1970s, and were prominent in pacifist and ecological movements. Their contacts included many of the founders of The World Wildlife Fund, Friends Of The Earth, and Greenpeace. To quote Malone's autobiography; "When you've seen the beating heart of the planet, and heard it scream, you have to care what happens to it. We had our chance to make a better world in 1913, and we threw it away. The writing was on the wall, and we tore the wall down so we couldn't see it. We can't make that mistake again." Category:Pages Category:People Category:Scientists Category:Professors Category:Explorers